Just a semi-typical homeschooling family

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Monthly Archives: February 2010

We’re working on a Presidents Day lapbook and started talking about George Washington today. The kids had to write down when and where President Washington was born. Cameron couldn’t remember exactly where and after thinking a bit he said “At home?”

Well, yes, actually. I bet he was. Sometimes I just love hearing what comes out of Cameron’s brain.

Yesterday for science we used pH test strips to determine the pH of various things including baking soda, lemon juice, soda, and water. I decided to have the kids spit on some strips to see what their saliva pH is.

It just so happens that just before I handed Cameron his test strip, he took a big swig of the lemon juice. I figured that would mess up his results so I had him wait a couple minutes. I still expected his strip to turn orange or even red (acidic), but much to my surprise it turned green (basic)! Ani’s showed her saliva was right about neutral as expected.

So I decided to have Ani repeat what Cameron had done. She took a drink of the lemon juice, wait a couple minutes, spit on a pH test strip, and we watched it instantly turn green! By drinking something acidic she turned her saliva from neutral to basic.

And so, completely by accident, we learned that your body instantly releases something into your saliva to counteract acid in your mouth. Your body always wants you to stay right around that neutral point and has natural ways of doing so. I just love accidental learning like that!

We cleaned off the buffet yesterday and decided it was time to change the table runner to something other than the Christmas one that had been on it for a couple months. Ani wondered if there was a Valentine’s one. My mom said there was not, though she had planned for some time to make one. So Ani asked if she could make one.

Off to the craft room Ani went to pick out pink and red fat quarters. My mom showed Ani how to cut the fat quarters into pieces to sew together. And then she sat Ani at the sewing machine and set her to work sewing the new table runner.

Ani worked off an on for a few hours over the course of the day. She watched Nim’s Island and The R.M. while she worked. By mid-afternoon she was all done. My mom had only helped with cutting, ironing, and a tiny bit of the sewing. At least 90% was all Ani! She was thrilled with her work. It looks great on the buffet.